The Color App May Serve a Purpose After All

Color is a new image sharing app that launched earlier this week and garnered a lot of attention with its large initial funding of $41 million. The company and its investors obviously believe they have a hit on their hands, but many are still wondering how the app would be useful. All Things Digital dug up an old Onion video that suggests just how the Color app could come in handy.

The video is funny because it’s a plausible idea of trying to piece together an incident through pictures taken, just not taken to the extremes portrayed in the spoof. What Color does is share pictures people have taken with everyone in real time. The app uses your location to determine who gets to see your pictures, with no filtering or privacy settings. Users will get to see and share pictures, texts, or videos with people around their location and other members they’ve expressed an interest in by viewing their pictures, liking them, or commenting on content.

The creators of Color feel that subscribing or “friending” someone is outdated. With Color relationships are implicit rather than explicit. So for large gatherings like a wedding, sporting event, or party, Color could let you share pictures with people you don’t actually know. A user’s interest may change over time and Color will augment a user’s list of contacts to reflect that. The app is now available to download for iOS devices and Android, with RIM and Windows Phone versions coming soon reportedly.